Chapter Two- Swimming and Dueling

Syrus surfaced, looked around, and saw non one. He moved easily across the surface toward the shore and when he reached the shallows, he used his hands and arms to pull himself out of the water. He looked back as his tail left the water and he saw it unravel into his legs, his clothes returning with them. He climbed onto them with no problem and headed back to Slifer, lost in thought about today's most recent events. I rescued a mermaid and because I did, I was granted a wish. Yes, becoming a merman wasn't my intention of wanting to swim, but it worked out. I'll learn to swim with a tail first and then apply what I learn to my legs. I will have to learn to hold my breath if I choose to dive and move underwater when I'm human. His eyes got a faraway look as he imagined surprising his friends when they next went to the wading pool. Of course, I won't tell them about Melody or the wish. They wouldn't believe me and besides, people shouldn't know that merpeople exist. Naturally, I have to keep the fact that I'm part merman a secret. I should work on changing from merman to human and maybe back again during my next lesson. I can hardly wait for tomorrow.

Syrus did not speak of his plans to his friends for a couple of reasons. One was he didn't need anyone watching out for him or ask why he was going anywhere alone. He knew they cared about him and thus worried about him, but they could be too caring. The second reason why he didn't tell anyone was because of Melody and his secret, of course. No one is supposed to know that merpeople were real and that Syrus was part of that race whenever he had his tail. So, when school ended for the day, the short Slifer bolted for the meeting spot and saw Melody out in the deep water, waving happily. Syrus smiled happily also as he dropped his bag and plunged into the water before using his tail to swim out to her before both went under the surface.

"Melody, how long were you waiting?" Syrus asked.

"I've…been waiting all day," she admitted.

"All day? So, your parents don't know where you are?"

Melody dropped her eyes. "They're not around anymore. They died five years ago when I was ten. I've had to take care of myself then as I don't have any other family."

"None?" Syrus was stunned. He couldn't imagine having no family, no parents, or siblings.

"I do have friends so I'm not exactly lonely."

"Tell me more. Do you live in a village, town, or city?"

"A small city. We have stores, houses, and schools. Speaking of schools, what about yours? I've seen some of it from the water and the piers. It looks impressive."

"It's called Duel Academy and we learn the finer points of a card game called Duel Monsters. Most of us plan to be professional duelists, though some would rather be designers for the game."

"You can earn a living by playing a card game?"

"Yeah, but I have a bit of stage fright and I have a big brother who's in his last years of school here and he's the top duelist in the school."

"Wow. That must be stressful; to have to live up to your brother's reputation."

"No kidding. Students are placed in one of three dorms based on grades and dueling prowess. I'm in the bottom one and I room with two others. The dorm is far from the school and we have a small beach near the water."

"I know that beach. Syrus that would be the perfect place to meet. It's a bit isolated and it's close to your dorm."

"It is perfect. Now," Syrus said, changing the subject. "I'd like to focus on changing to human while in the water. Also to see if I can change back to merman while in the water."

"Well, obviously you need to be on the surface for that."

Syrus laughed. "Yeah, of course, but first to warm up." He twitched and flicked his tail before moving it up and down to prep himself for leg swimming. He suggested the water just beyond the shallows and Melody agreed, saying she would be nearby to help. The two teens swam to the agreed upon spot and surfaced before Syrus closed his eyes and focused on being human. He felt his clothes on his wet skin and promptly began kicking his legs. His kicking started out good, but he started to sink and Melody immediately helped him stay afloat. "Not bad," she said.

"Yeah, that wasn't bad at all," Syrus said. "I don't usually kick like that to keep above the water."

"Perhaps, you being a merman is giving you swimming skills that you retain in human form," Melody suggested.

"So my wish really did work out." Syrus focused and felt his legs merge together. He smiled. "And I can change back and forth in the water." He laughed in joy and performed an aerial backflip before splashing underwater, his tail becoming legs in the air and then legs to tail as he went underwater.

Melody smiled in amusement. She liked Syrus' joy and willingness to open up about himself. He says he has stage fright and that would mean that he's shy. I'm encountering a sweet and thoughtful guy instead of a shy one. It's possible that the personality of a merman may rub off on him and give him a bit more confidence. If he's going to be a professional duelist, he needs to be more confident. She ducked down to show Syrus some tricks and work on his speed. Speed will help improve his legs' muscles.

Syrus floated underwater, flicking his fins and flexing his tail with a big grin. It was so cool being a merman. I almost wish I could stay down here forever- almost. I know I can't as I have school, friends, and family. But I also like Melody, even though I only met her yesterday. She's pretty, nice, and helpful. She granted my wish of me being a good swimmer. I've learned to tread water for a little bit and I'll no doubt get better with more tail practice.

"Hey, Syrus! Race ya!" Melody called and Syrus grinned as he swam over and prepared to race his mentor and friend.

Both surfaced a little later with nothing but the ocean around them. Syrus smiled happily at the sight. He hadn't won the race, but he had moved fast in the race. "This is a lovely sight," he said. "I feel at home here."

Melody giggled. "Of course you do. You're a merman right now. The water is our one and only home."

"I also don't fear it or drowning either. I really don't know how to thank you."

"Do you think you could teach me about Duel Monsters? I don't mean how to play, just about the game."

"I could do that. Okay, well the point of the game is to reduce your opponent's score that are called life points to zero and you do that mostly with monster cards. Some have a large amount of what's called attack points while others don't. Other monsters have high defense points and others don't. Players battle their monsters against each other and usually the one with the higher attack points wins and the player of the defeated monster loses life points equal to the difference in attack points. If the monster destroyed is face-down and horizontal which is called defense mode, the owner takes no damage unless the attacking monster has a special ability to inflict damage despite the destroyed monster being in defense mode." Syrus sighed. "I feel I'm not explaining the game that well."

"No, you're not. Let me recap. Players have life points and battle with monsters in either attack or defense mode. Attacking ones battle and the weakest one is defeated and the owner of it loses life points. Defense mode protects the life points unless the attacking monster can inflict damage with a special ability."

Syrus nodded. "Yeah, you got it. I think I'll speak of the different types of monsters, saving certain ones at the end as they involve another part of the game."

"Makes sense," Melody said. She led Syrus to a cluster of rocks where they could sit and listened to Syrus explain the monsters in greater detail while wishing she could be human and play the game.